Lucky
by MLaw
Summary: Illya and Napoleon guard a witness in an U.N.C.L.E. safe house, where they encounter Luck in several ways. A pre-saga story.


It was that perfect time of day, a summer's eve, just when the light was fading but there was still enough to see the details of your surroundings. The moon was high in a cloudless sky, not quite full yet with it's light giving a muted brilliance to the approaching darkness.

Illya Kuryakin sat in a white wicker chair on the front porch of an old Victorian house that was situated in the middle of nowhere in northern New Jersey.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his clasped hands, watching as the fireflies flickered on and off as they drifted past as darkness finally fell.

The air was filled with the heady scent of flowers... roses, hydrangeas, lilies and many more with their bright colors becoming subdued in the twilight.

A small black and white kitten appeared from beneath the porch, stalking something with the keen focus of a leopard, until it was suddenly distracted by a one of the brightly lit insects as it flew past, and took off after it.

"Pssst, pssst," Illya called after it," Here puss."

The creature stopped, with its ears perking up at the sound the human made. It stared at Illya for a moment until it backed away from him with suspicion, and finally disappeared into the nearby bushes.

It had been excruciatingly hot and humid during the day, and now as night was falling, so was the temperature but not the humidity. If it hadn't been for that, Illya supposed it would have been a perfect ending to the day, and a near perfect moment in time as darkness fell.

He and Napoleon were sequestered there in an U.N.C.L.E. safehouse, guarding one Louie Mancuso, a mob turncoat who was going to testify against his Capo. It was their last night in hiding before escorting him back to Manhattan in the morning. From headquarters, he would then be escorted to the grand jury to testify behind closed doors.

Napoleon stepped out to the porch, sitting down in a rocking chair beside his partner and handing him a tall glass of iced tea. "Hard to believe it's the fourth of July."

Illya agreed, accepting his drink with a nod, but his attention was still drawn to their surroundings, and he seemed lost in his thoughts."

"You all right tovarisch? You're quieter than usual and that's pretty quiet."

In an unusual moment of candor Illya spoke out, but not giving his stock in trade answer.

"Where do you see yourself when U.N.C.L.E. is no longer a part of your life, more specifically the enforcement part?"

Napoleon cocked his eyebrows, surprised at that sort of question as Illya was not one to discuss the future, being the pessimist that he was. Every time they embarked on a dangerous assignment, he seemed convinced that he was going to die and such a fatalistic view did not lend itself to thinking about what life held in store for someone like Illya Kuryakin.

"With my promotion to CEA, and Waverly's grooming me as his replacement, I'll be a member of Section I of course," he answered matter-of-factly.

Illya snickered, "With your aversion to doing paperwork, I find your taking Mr. Waverly's place rather ironic."

"Hey, there _are_ secretaries remember?" Napoleon shot back. "And what about you, what are you picturing yourself doing, albeit far into the future?"

Illya took a deep breath. "If I live long enough to retire, I am not sure what I will be doing, or where I will be for that matter. It is entirely possible that when my tenure as a field agent is up, I will be recalled to the Soviet Union."

"But you told me that was as good as a death sentence for you."

"Precisely."

"Illya you need to stop this fatalistic nonsense. Retirement is a long way off for both of us. I'm sure you'll be allowed to stay with the organization as you have a lot of valuable skills that would keep you useful to U.N.C.L.E. and Lord knows I'll need your help. The Soviet Union would still benefit from our intelligence because of your presence, regardless of your position."

"It is possible they could just send someone to replace me."

"Hmm, didn't think of that. I'm sure they wouldn't do that, you're too much of an asset to us and they know it. I suspect they wouldn't want to engage in a tug of war with us and risk losing the intelligence we send them."

"Thank you my friend." Illya finally took a sip of his ice tea, and made a face, puckering his lips. "You put lemon in this?"

"Oops, sorry. I forgot you don't like lemon in your tea."

Illya shrugged, he was thirsty and would drink it. "No it is all right, forget I said that." He swallowed the contents of his frosted glass in several gulps. "Napoleon, do you think we will both end up alone?"

Solo was even more surprised at that question."You mean as in no women in our lives?"

"Yes."

"I've tried not to think about that; this job isn't exactly conducive to family life, and besides there's the no-marriage clause."

"I am talking about after retirement age. To be a bachelor at forty does not exactly give one hope of finding a proper...mate."

"Oh _that's_ what you're on about?"

"It is about loneliness Napoleon. I have been alone and lonely most of my life and there are times I find that state of being difficult to bear, yet conversely, I treasure my privacy. Could there be a woman out there who would tolerate me and my ways? I think there are times that I am rather eccentric."

"I don't know? I suppose I'm in the same boat as you are."

"Perhaps, but with the number of female acquaintances you have, I imagine your odds of finding the right woman some day are much better for you than they are for me. I will most likely spend my time alone, as always."

"I'm not so sure about that." Napoleon reached out, giving his partner's shoulder a squeeze, in answer to his melancholy mood. "Hey haven't you reminded me on a number of occasions that we have each other?"

"Da." Illya went silent after that, with his partner joining him as they stared out at the night sky, now filled with twinkling stars that surrounded the moon. The buzzing of locust and the mating calls of frogs created a symphony of sorts as the fireflies continued to dot the air with their golden lights.

Suddenly they both heard it; the sound of a twig snapping, and watched as the kitten tore out of its hiding place, obviously frightened by something. As a precaution, the agents quickly drew their weapons, aiming them at the bushes where the kitten had come from.

A shot was fired in their direction, sending them diving from their chairs on the porch to the ground.

"Damn!" Solo cursed under his breath, looking to his partner lying there beside him.

Illya breathed in the scent of the freshly mown grass and muffled a sneeze, while his eyes darted in every direction and pointed silently to where he'd seen the shot originate. Several more rounds were fired, and the partners found their targets easily, seeing the muzzle flashes in the darkness.

There were three of them, and one by one a grunt was heard or a thud as the U.N.C.L.E. agents bullets hit their marks.

Everything went silent. The locust and frogs ceased their call, even the fireflies seemed to disappear.

Napoleon stood cautiously, reaching out and offering his hand to help his partner to his feet. After a brief search they found the bodies in the bushes, and Solo guessed they were mob foot soldiers sent to assassinate the witness.

He pulled his communicator, calling for a cleanup crew and to notify Waverly of the incident.

"Bring your man into headquarters now, best to not take any further risks." Waverly said, "And proceed with all caution. Report to me when you arrive. Out."

That was it, Waverly never hesitated to cut to the chase. Two o'clock in the morning and he was still there at headquarters, making Napoleon wonder if the man ever slept at all.

Illya gathered their things and retrieved the car from the back of the house while Napoleon stayed with their charge, trying to keep the man from becoming too agitated by the attack. The gun battle had frayed Mancuso's nerves, and he was now questioning if he should still testify.

"You'll be fine Louie," Napoleon assured him,"Nothing happened to you here, correct? We've got your back, so don't worry."

"Yeah, but who's got yours?" The mobster asked, his voice thick with a Brooklyn accent.

Solo smiled with assurance, knowing the answer to that question. He had the Solo luck, but most importantly, he had his partner.

Illya pulled the dark sedan to front of the house, remaining behind the wheel while Napoleon escorted Mancuso downstairs, seeing him safely to the backseat of the car and locking the door behind him.

The vehicle slowly pulled away as Illya scanned the darkness for any further intruders and found the coast clear. Yet he suddenly stopped the car, opened up the door and reached out to grab the wayward kitten. Slamming the door closed; he hit the gas pedal, sending a stream of gravel into the air as the car sped out to the main road.

"I am glad we have each other Napoleon," Kuryakin whispered out of the blue as the kitten curled up in his lap, going to sleep.

"Me too tovarisch, me too."

They drove off into the night, saying nothing more. Illya's single sentence seemed to be enough for the moment, as was Napoleon's response.

Napoleon finally broke the silence, asking a question.

"What are you going to do with the cat?"

"It helped save our lives, so I will give it a home of course."

"Of course..." The American agreed with a wide grin.

"So what are you going to call it?"

"I was thinking, Napoleon..."

"Very funny."

"All right, perhaps not. Maybe _Vezuchiĭ._

"Lucky? Now that I approve of."

"I surmised you would." Illya snorted.

"Hey would you two shut up, I'm tryin' to get some shuteye here!" Louie complained from the backseat.

"Louie, behave yourself, or we'll leave you in the woods where your friends'll find you." Napoleon warned. That shut him up. The rest of the trip to New York was blissfully quiet.

They arrived at headquarters just after three in the morning and reported to Waverly's conference room once they settled the witness into guest quarters.

Alexander Waverly was busy studying a file when his agents walked in unannounced.

"Good to see that you arrived safely gentlemen." He greeted them without looking up, but turned his head as something moving under the Russian's suit jacket caught his attention.

"Mr. Kuryakin, may I ask what it is you seem to be hiding?"

Illya blushed as he revealed the kitten but before he could explain, Waverly reached over and took it from him.

"I say, I had a kitten that looked just like this when I was child. Devonshire was his name...splendid cat and a most excellent mouser." The Old Man cuddled Lucky to him and the kitten began to purr loudly. Moments later the Old Man's head drooped forward, as he nodded off to sleep with the kitten doing the same in his lap.

Illya and Napoleon looked at each other, and walked gingerly out of the office, leaving the kitten with, in all probability, its new owner.

"Have you ever seen him fall asleep like that?"Napoleon yawned as they took the elevator up to guest quarters.

"I have never seen him sleep at all. I am thinking that Mr. Waverly is in need of that cat more than me.

"Weren't you were going to keep it for yourself, you know, a bit of companionship to keep you from being lonely?"

"Sleep well Napoleon." Illya smiled wryly as he opened the door to his room. "Remember we have each other and our own luck."

Solo waited a moment before heading into his own quarters. "Thanks for the reminder," he whispered.


End file.
